The Dalvero Academy is a private school of drawing, reportage, illustration, design and photography based in Brooklyn, NY. We train students to become graphic communicators through many mediums, creating artists who choose to illustrate and communicate with their art. All students are trained in intensive drawing, both from the model and on location. To find out more about us, please visit our website >.

Dalvero Academy founders Veronica Lawlor and Margaret Hurst lead artists on field visits to worldwide locations, from New York City to Paris, to draw on-site and develop artistic projects. Always on the lookout for new locations, they thought the romance and history of Mystic Seaport would create an ideal environment for such pursuits. While there, an encounter with Shipyard Director Quentin Snediker led to the opportunity to chronicle — through drawing and art— the restoration of the Charles W. Morgan.

The Charles W. Morgan is the last remaining wooden whaleship in the world. She was built in New Bedford, Mass. in 1841 and sailed 37 voyages around the globe in a career lasting 80 years. Since 1941, the Morgan has been an exhibit at Mystic Seaport, where an estimated 20 million people have walked her decks as they learn about the legacy of the whaling industry. The Morgan is the oldest American commercial vessel still afloat and is a National Historic Landmark.

Mystic Seaport is the nation’s leading maritime museum. Founded in 1929, the Museum seeks to foster an enduring connection to America’s maritime heritage. Situated on a 19-acre campus in Mystic, Conn., the Museum features a watercraft collection of more than 500 vessels, including four National Historic Landmarks. A center for maritime scholarship and education, Mystic Seaport utilizes its collections, library, and a recreated 19th century seafaring village to show visitors how maritime culture and industry shaped our country.

A Cinderella stamp is an exercise in communication. The minute scale of a postage stamp forces the artist to pare his or her ideas down to its essentials. A “Cinderella” stamp is so named because it is a fantasy stamp that serves the artist’s ideas. We hope that like Cinderella, one day our stamps may “go to the ball” — become official US Postage Stamps. We think the restoration of the Morgan is worthy of this honor. Veronica Lawlor and Margaret Hurst asked the Academy’s artists to design their own Cinderella stamps depicting any aspect of the Charles W. Morgan. These stamps led the artists to a world of illustration and art that we are proud to share with you.

Experience artworks from the “Restoring a Past, Charting a Future” exhibit at the locations that inspired them! With augmented reality, all of Mystic Seaport becomes a virtual gallery, visible on iPhone and Android devices. Follow these steps to see the augmented reality gallery: